Although somewhat unconventional as far as memoirs go, Chronicles: Volume One recaptures Bob Dylan's "first stirrings of creativity with amazing urgency" (as Janet Maslin once put it) , and brings you to places that the normal Dylan biography won't. It brings you back to the small moments that shaped Dylan's early days as a musician in New York, and to the intellectual and musical influences that framed his way of seeing things: Thucidydes, Hank Williams, Dostoevsky, Woody Guthrie, John Locke and Jean Genet. I downloaded the audio book version of Chronicles over the weekend and was perhaps most captivated by the narration recorded by Sean Penn, the newly-minted Academy Award winner. Penn is not playing a role here. But, at points, you think you're listening to Dylan himself, which makes it a rather unique audio experience. You can download the audio book for $13.65. But, you could also potentially get it for free. Audible runs a regular promotion that lets you download two books for free if you sign up for a 14 day free trial. Get the details here.

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Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.